


Rumours and Nightmares

by thesoulofchaos



Category: Resident Evil - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 15:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17327498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesoulofchaos/pseuds/thesoulofchaos
Summary: There's a lot of darkness over all of them these days, and Sherry knows - just about - how to deal with Claire's.





	Rumours and Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018, 12 Days of Christmas challenge

Sherry knew better than to turn the light on if she ever arrived at Claire’s place and found them off. Claire needed the dark sometimes, or at least that's what she said. Sherry took her phone out of her pocket and used the light to navigate through to the study where she knew she'd find Claire. 

“Hey you”, and she waited for a moment. 

“Hey me”, Claire replied and Sherry smiled to herself, it reassured her just enough when Claire could still be silly with her. 

“Can I put a lamp on?”, Sherry asked as she nearly tripped over something on the floor. She got her answer when Claire reached out herself and turned the desk lamp on. Sherry sat down on the other chair, but moved it around so she was near Claire without crowding her. 

Claire looked like she hadn't slept for a few days; and Sherry didn't question the bruise under one eye. She probably wouldn't get a straightforward answer anyway if she pushed. 

They sat in silence for a long time, a silence that hung somewhere between comfortable and awkward. Everytime Sherry wanted to break the silence, she forced herself to wait just a little bit longer and let Claire talk first. 

“I got into a fight”, Claire said, waved her hand towards her face, “I'm suspended with pay for a month while I go for therapy”. 

And Claire would go. Sherry knew that. Claire didn't understand the people who fronted bravado and acted like therapy was such a waste of time and that they were fine, when they so clearly weren't. She just also knew that it hadn't worked the last two times work had sent her, so it probably wouldn't now. She would still go though, just in case it did. 

No-one else knew about this Claire. The one so coiled up with anger and nightmares that she sometimes just exploded. Usually it wasn't someone else she hurt. It was hard to get better when you kept having to run back into situations that retraumatised you. 

“They're putting me out in the field next month”, Sherry said. She squeezed back when Claire took her hand. 

“I could find a way to get you a new identity”, Claire offered, not for the first time, but Sherry smiled and shook her head. 

“What else do I have? Who else?”, Sherry asked, “I mean, it's tempting just to get away from Simmonds but… I'd be getting away from you too”. 

“I'm not a good reason for anyone to stay in this nightmare”, Claire said. 

“Wherever I go, people will eventually find out that I'm the monster child of the evil scientists who engineered part of this mess. At least here, people already know”, and Sherry watched a battery of emotions flicker on Claire’s face. 

“You're not a monster”, Claire said. 

“No, but that's what people say behind my back isn't it, sometimes they use nicer words”, and Sherry knew Claire didn't have an answer for that one when a flicker of realisation crossed her features. 

“Who told you?”, Claire asked. 

“Oh it's big gossip that you punched someone out in defense of my honor”, Sherry stood up and tugged Claire’s hand, the other woman reluctantly let herself be pulled up, “you should hear the rumours”. 

“Hmm”, but Claire let Sherry step in and wrap her arms around her, rest her head on her shoulder. Sherry smiled as her embrace was finally returned, 

“Thank you for looking out for me again”. 


End file.
